Assertive Rights and Responsibilities

1. I have the right to put myself first. In fact, my 1st responsibility is to myself. Only when I am meeting my own needs adequately, can I give to others freely, without expectations.

2. I have the right to be treated with respect.

3. I have the right to decide what to do with my own property, body, and time.

4. I have the right to evaluate my own behaviour, thoughts, and emotions, and to take responsibility for their initiation and consequences upon myself.

5. I have the right to make mistakes and be responsible for them.

6. I have the right to make self-evaluations without worrying about what other people think.

7. I have the right to not offer reasons or excuses for justifying my behaviour.

8. I have the right to make my own decisions, to make illogical decisions AND to change my mind. I have the right to change my mind after I’ve said YES.

9. I have the right to say, “I don’t know, ” “I don’t understand,” “I don’t care.” and “I don’t want to be involved.” Without feeling inferior.

10. I have the right to say “no” without feeling guilty or selfish.

11. I have the right to ask for what I want (realizing that the other person has the right to say no).

12. I have the right to have, and express my feelings.

13. I have the right to consider my own needs and to express my needs. I have the right to ask for help.

14. I have the right to judge whether I am responsible for finding solutions to other people’s problems.

15. I have the right to self fulfillment.

16. I have the right to be independent.

17. I have the right to dignity and self-respect.

18. I have the right to privacy.

19. I have the right to accept, or to refuse, challenges.

20. I have the right to change.

21. I have the right to choose not to assert myself.

ASSERTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. To assess my true feelings without exaggeration or under-estimating; to express my feeling(s) appropriately without demeaning someone else in the process.

2. To act in a responsible manner as much of the time as possible.

3. To think through my opinions and realize others can disagree with them.

4. To learn from mistakes, rather than punishing myself or others because of mistakes.

5. To reply as soon as possible or as soon as I am able, and without taking unreasonable amount of time.

6. To accept others’ answers respectfully.

7. To respect commitments to others as well as to myself; to allow sufficient time to fulfill commitments.

8. To think through my responses before answering.

9. To not impose my own values on others.

10. To express my needs and, if appropriate, work out a compromise.

11. To avoid “boxing in” myself or others by labelling or making judgement.

12. To acknowledge other’s choices and accomplishments.

13. To feel appropriate anger and sadness and to assert these feelings with the people involved.

14. To recognize anger, sadness, and joy, and see that these feelings do not interfere with others’ rights and responsibilities.

READ THESE ALLOWED TO YOURSELF:

My needs are equal to the needs of others

My needs are different from yours and need to be respected.

My recovery is the most important thing.

I can be assertive without being aggressive.

I’m moving forward in my life despite setbacks

I have the right to my own time.

I am not alone.

I am learning to cope with problems I cannot change/fix.

I am learning who I am and I give myself permission to do that.

I’m okay with nurturing myself.

I am learning to walk away from people and situations that no longer serve me.

I will be kind to myself.

ASSERTIVE STATEMENTS:
I can see you are angry/upset right now/and/or/ I am upset right now. I need to take a moment away from this conversation.
That is a harmful comment. That is a hurtful comment.
Will you lower your voice? If you cannot lower your voice, I will
have to end the conversation.
Please take a few deep breaths – you may not realize but you’re talking “at” me.
That makes me uncomfortable.
That’s unkind.
That’s not very nice.
I don’t appreciate…
That’s personal.
Wow, that doesn’t make me feel good at all.
That’s too far.

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Welcome!

Thank you for stopping
by.
I know that things can
get rough sometimes
and it feels like you're
never going to make it
through. As someone with
a severe mental illness
I can understand the pain
and frustration. I tell
myself that life isn't
crappy, but that the
things in my life right
now are crappy. I've made
it through tough times
before and so have you.
You'll make it through
this! Keep going! Even
when it storms, it can't
rain forever my friend.